Netflix To Close Bloomfield Distribution Center

Netflix Inc. will close its Bloomfield DVD distribution center on Wednesday amid dwindling demand for mail-order movies as more and more entertainment is streamed online.

The company cited the U.S. Postal Service changes and company efficiencies in a statement about the closure Monday.

"Netflix has closed the Bloomfield DVD distribution center due mainly to United States Postal Service transportation and service changes, along with increased internal production efficiencies, resulting [in] a small number of jobs lost," company spokesman Joris Evers told The Courant in a prepared statement. He would not specify how the postal service is hurting business.

The company will continue to offer its paying customers DVD delivery via mail with "the same uninterrupted one-day service as they have in the past," Evers said.

The Bloomfield center opened in July 2008 and is the only Netflix distribution center in Connecticut. After it closes, Netflix will have 42 hub locations. Connecticut will be served by centers in Worcester, Mass., and Melville, N.Y.

A Netflix distribution center in Stamford closed in 2004 after less than 18 months of operation, according to the Stamford Advocate.

At least 50 people once worked at the Bloomfield distribution center during a single shift, according to a 2009 Courant news story. The company would not say exactly how many part-time and full-time employees work there today. The company said only five jobs will be affected by the closing, adding that staff was reduced over several years as distribution was automated.

Netflix's DVD business has fallen from 10.1 million paying members and $320 million in revenue as of March 31, 2012, to 7.5 million customers and $232 million in revenue as of June 30, according to company reports.

At the same time, the business of online-streaming movies and TV shows is growing, meaning people primarily watch directly through their Internet connection on a computer, mobile device or a TV. Netflix's "Domestic Streaming" segment had 23.4 million members in the U.S. and $507 million in revenue as of March 31, 2012. That grew to 29.8 million members and $671 million in revenue as of June 30, 2013.

During a July 22 conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings with analysts and media, Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings was asked if the DVD business was going to be shut down.

"No. We've got over 7 million members who love the service," Hastings said. "It's got incredible selection — every movie and TV show ever made. It's got a great part of the value equation for over seven million members, and that will go on for a very long time."